The decision means that an estimated 300,000 people on the Caribbean island cannot participate in the SSI program, which provides benefits to low-income elderly, blind and disabled people.
WASHINGTON - Congress can prevent people in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico from participating in a federal program that provides benefits to low-income elderly, blind and disabled people, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
The court held in an opinion by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh that the actions of Congress were valid under a provision in the Constitution that lets lawmakers treat territories differently than states. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, was the sole dissenter.
A lower court ruled that Puerto Rico's SSI exclusion violated the Constitution's equal protection mandate, prompting the government's appeal. The federal government's central argument was that the congressional decision to exclude Puerto Rico was rational based on the fact that Puerto Ricans do not pay many federal taxes, including income tax.
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